We use cookies on this website, including web analysis cookies. By using this site, you agree that we may store and access cookies on your device. You have the right to opt out of web analysis at any time. Find out more about our cookie policy and how to opt out of web analysis.

Demography, family, and gender

Population characteristics strongly predict labor market success. One of the biggest economic changes has been the rise of women in the labor market. The upcoming demographic imbalances suggest substantial adjustment processes on labor markets around the globe. The articles in this subject area provide evidence relating the role of demography in social, cultural, and biological processes to their effects on worker well-being.

Payments at the time of marriage, which are
ubiquitous in developing countries, can be substantial enough to impoverish
parents. Brideprice and dowry have both been linked to domestic violence
against women, and inflation in these payments has prompted legislation
against them in several jurisdictions. Marriage payments are often a
substitute for investment in female human capital, so from a welfare and
policy perspective, they should be prohibited. This highlights the
importance of promoting direct economic returns over legal and customary
rights.

When migrants move to countries with high
obesity rates, does assimilation lead to labor market penalties and higher
health care costs?

Upon arrival in a host country, immigrants often
have lower obesity rates (as measured for instance by BMI—body mass index)
than their native counterparts do, but these rates converge over time. In
light of the worldwide obesity epidemic and the flow of immigrants into host
countries with higher obesity rates, it is important to understand the
consequences of such assimilation. Policymakers could benefit from a
discussion of the impact of immigrant obesity on labor market outcomes and
the use of public services. In particular, policies could find ways to
improve immigrants’ access to health care for both the prevention and
treatment of obesity.

The hidden private cost of obesity: Lower
earnings and a lower probability of employment

Rising obesity is not only a pressing global
public health problem. There is also substantial evidence that obese people,
particularly women, are less likely to be employed and, when employed, are
likely to earn lower wages. There is some evidence that the lower earnings
are a result of discriminatory hiring and sorting into jobs with less
customer contact. Understanding whether obesity is associated with adverse
labor market outcomes and ascertaining the source of these outcomes are
essential for designing effective public policy.

Greater representation of women may better
represent women’s preferences but may not help economic performance

Women's representation on corporate boards,
political committees, and other decision-making teams is increasing, this is
in part because of legal mandates. Evidence on team dynamics and gender
differences in preferences (for example, risk-taking behavior, taste for
competition, prosocial behavior) shows how gender composition influences
group decision-making and subsequent performance. This works through
channels such as investment decisions, internal management, corporate
governance, and social responsibility.

Research finds that hot weather causes a fall in birth rates
nine months later. Evidence suggests that this decline in births is due to hot weather harming
reproductive health around the time of conception. Birth rates only partially rebound after
the initial decline. Moreover, the rebound shifts births toward summer months, harming infant
health by increasing third trimester exposure to hot weather. Worse infant health raises
health care costs in the short term as well as reducing labor productivity in the longer term,
possibly due to lasting physiological harm from the early life injury.

Migrants encounter different fertility norms
while abroad, which they can bring back upon returning home

Demographic factors in migrant-sending countries
can influence international migration flows. But when migrants move across
borders, they can also influence the pace of demographic transition in their
countries of origin. This is because migrants, who predominantly move on a
temporary basis, encounter new fertility norms in their host countries and
then bring them back home. These new fertility norms can be higher or lower
than those in their country of origin. So the new fertility norms that
result from migration flows can either accelerate or slow down a demographic
transition in migrant-sending countries.

Snapshots of who is poor in one period provide
an incomplete picture of poverty

A considerable part of the poverty that is
measured in a single period is transitory rather than persistent. In most
countries, only a portion of people who are currently poor are persistently
poor. People who are persistently poor or who cycle into and out of poverty
should be the main focus of anti-poverty policies. Understanding the
characteristics of the persistently poor, and the circumstances and
mechanisms associated with entry into and exit from poverty, can help to
inform governments about options to reduce persistent poverty. Differences
in poverty persistence across countries can shed additional light on
possible sources of poverty persistence.

Measures of intergenerational persistence can be
indicative of equality of opportunity, but the relationship is not
clear-cut

A strong association between incomes across
generations—with children from poor families likely to be poor as adults—is
frequently considered an indicator of insufficient equality of opportunity.
Studies of such “intergenerational persistence,” or lack of
intergenerational mobility, measure the strength of the relationship between
parents’ socio-economic status and that of their children as adults.
However, the association between equality of opportunity and common measures
of intergenerational persistence is not as clear-cut as is often assumed. To
aid interpretation researchers often compare measures across time and space
but must recognize that reliable measurement requires overcoming important
data and methodological difficulties.